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 On a hot, humid night at Flushing Meadows, Djokovic waged an
entertaining battle with the 33-year-old serve-and-volleyer, before
finishing off the 18th seed 7-2 in the fourth set tiebreaker to
complete a 6-1 3-6 6-3 7-6(2) victory.
Lopez won 28-of-41 serve-and-volley points, while Djokovic countered
with 33 forays to the net that produced 19 points for the world
number one.
"He's one of the rare players who actually serves and volleys after
the first and second serves," said Djokovic, winner of this year's
Australian Open and Wimbledon championships. "He's got a very big
serve."
Lopez served up 14 aces, while Djokovic registered nine.
"It was anybody's game in the fourth set," the Serb said. "I'm just
glad to get through in four."
Djokovic had beaten Lopez in their five previous meetings but the
lefty was confident, coming off a Cincinnati hardcourt event where
he reached the quarters with wins over Milos Raonic and Rafa Nadal
before losing to world number two Roger Federer.
"My game plan was to be aggressive," Lopez said. "He was having some
trouble reading my serve.
"The match from my side was great. I have to be satisfied with the
match I played with the number one player in the world. I couldn't
do any better today. He just was better in the tiebreaker in the
fourth. I think I played a great match."
Djokovic, 61-5 with six tournament titles this season, will face
defending champion Marin Cilic of Croatia in the semi-finals. The
ninth-seeded Cilic advanced with a five-set win over France's
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
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Nine-times grand slam winner Djokovic reached his ninth successive
U.S. Open semi-finals and the 2011 champion expects another
challenging match against Cilic, despite owning a 13-0 record
against him.
"He hasn't lost a match (here), 12 matches in a row, so I'm sure he
feels confident," Djokovic said. "I know him very well. I have
played him many, many times. We are great friends.
"I know what to do and I'm hoping I can execute the game plan."
(Editing by Amlan Chakraborty/John O'Brien)
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